INfamous: Rival Heroes
by The Prancing Jaeger
Summary: Cole is alive and well. And as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Now he's awake, his powers stronger, in a world where Conduits fight Conduits for survival, With one side government sanctioned and the other, labeled terrorist. Welcome to Seattle, Cole.


Prologue

Neon Marais

Welcome to Neon Marais, a place of endless wonder, and eternal sin, as well as my home. I took a quick jog around the Neon Gasworks, my current home base where I lived with my friends Oku, a pretty cool karate master, Inx, a hotheaded cutie with a penchant for explosives, Risht my beautiful and smart doctor girlfriend, and Keze, my best friend and brother in all but blood. We lived in an apartment we called "The Roof," a pretty chill place. All in all, life was perfect. As I was walking, I received a call from Keze.

"Hey Brother, Where are ya? Inx and I were gonna go get some food and stuff, and I wanted to know if you wanted something." he said.

"Actually, yeah, thanks for asking, I needed some skittles, and some electricity." I replied as I jogged through Smut Town, a water-centralized adult themed area.

"Electricity, is that some kind of new drink or something?" Keze responded, curious. I paused in my jog, confused. "When did I say electricity?" I asked him.

"Just now, you asked for Skittles and electricity."

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ask for something like electricity."

"Hey, well, that's what you said. Anyways, I'm off; see you at the roof, brother."

We hung up, and I continued my jog. As I looked around at all the lights, I noticed something strange. They seemed to be calling me, like water calls a man in the desert. I shook my head and continued. But as I continued, I failed to notice the slight spark that jumped at me from the lights, and absorbed itself into my body. As I kept walking, more sparks came to me, unnoticed by all. Finally back at the Neon Gasworks, I crossed through a construction site, hoping to get home a bit faster.

As I jogged through the construction site, something felt off. I stopped jogging and looked around, and I saw something moving in the shadows.

"Poor Eloc Gramacth…." came a sinister voice. "Just fading, falling, lost in forever."

"Who's there?" I called out, a tad bit concerned. "And how do you know my name?"

"When will you wake up, Eloc? Or should I say, Cole? There's so much left to be done, yet you remain asleep."

At this point, I was officially weirded out. "Come out where I can see you!" I yelled.

"Oh, I'll do you one better, Mr. Macgrath." said the voice. Suddenly, A figure launched out of the shadows at me. It was wearing khaki clothing, and had some sort of strange metal arm, which it grabbed me with. "Heh, heart racing, small amount of sweat….you're afraid, but, you have a look of defiance." It spoke, amused.

I kicked out at the figure, causing it to drop me, after which I back flipped away and got into a fighting pose. The figure just chuckled, and held up its metal arm. "Come, Cole, Let's see how well you do without our gift."

"My name is Eloc!" I yelled as I charged at the figure, fist raised and ready to punch.

The hooded figure stood there, and right when I was about to strike, disappeared. As my hand hit empty air, I looked around, panicking. "Lookin' good, Cole." said a voice from behind me.

I turned, ready to hit, but my chance never came, as the figure caused an earthquake, _just by punching the ground_. I fell down harshly, and the figure teleported right in front of me, and tapped my forehead.

"Don't worry; it'll all make sense soon, Cole."

Suddenly, images flooded my head, images of Inx shooting flames, of Keze rescuing me from a cage. There were images of me, controlling lightning. Of Oku attacking me.

"Cole, you need to wake up, out of this phony world." said the man, no, said Kessler.

"Kessler, you…you died_. I_ died?" I said, with my brain hurting.

Kessler nodded, "Yes, I died, but you, you are still alive, trapped here. "

"Who trapped me?"

"Not who, what, and that what is the RFI." He replied grimly.

"The RFI?!" I repeated, stunned. "But how?"

"When you activated it, you fused with it somehow, and in that moment, your power was near infinite. You were going to die, but, the RFI saved you, by sending you into a dream world of perfection. Trish is alive, Nix is alive, and so is Kuo, but only because you willed it. You trapped yourself here, really. You wanted a normal, perfect life; the RFI made it a reality."

I sat down, unable to comprehend how I cheated death, with a mere _thought_. "Wait," I spoke suddenly. Kessler looked at me. "What happened to my powers?"

"You have them. Well, some of them. The rest of it is in your fake friends' bodies. This reminds me, if you're going to get out of here, you'll need all your power back."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, the RFI wants to protect you, so, it became the beast, which you can't defeat as you are right now."

"No, I meant, why would I want to leave here?" I rephrased slowly.

"Oh! Oh, that's easy. Your dying." said Kessler, casually.

"WHAT?!" I yelled in shock.

"Yeah, the RFI doesn't have infinite energy, but, technically, you do, as long as there is a power source nearby. You remember how you feel when there is no power nearby, right?"

I nodded. It was a feeling I hated, as if I was thirsty and no amount of water could sate my thirst.

"Well, guess what? We are, currently, over a thousand miles away from any land. And that means, the nearest electric source for the RFI is you. And, even better, you're almost out of electricity."

"What happens when I'm completely out?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"The RFI drains your bioelectric energy and you die. Similar to what your bio drain ability does. Truthfully, you only have ten days." came the response I didn't want to hear. "So, if I were you, I'd get to work on restoring your powers."

"Well, how do I take my powers back?"

"You won't like this….." started Kessler, slowly.

"Just tell me."

"Fine, you have to kill your friends."


End file.
